Rock Picks

Its been a minute. Actually, five years to be precise. Thats how long since the godfather of British soul graced worldwide fans and followers with a new album. Now, having just released Sing (If You Want It) on his own newly formed Ether label  after making quite a tour of assorted labels in his career before seizing the reins  the man himself is touching down in L.A. for a rare, do-not-miss-it appearance. Hes considered one of the architects of acid jazz, and time has proved that hes beyond trendy genre labels and is really just a soul man  one whose unimpeachable rep snared notables from Angie Stone to Common to Stevie Wonder to do guest shots on the new CD. Opening act is L.A.s own hip-hop/soul daughter Kim Hill, who just might premiere some tracks from her dazzling forthcoming (spring 07) album. Is that Egyptian Musk I smell? (Ernest Hardy)

A mix of glam,
disco, new wave and metal shouldnt work, but Electric Six make it the
most natural thing in the world. For all the accusations of
mock-rock, the Detroit sextets ability to both adore and ridicule
their subjects has more of a gay sensibility than the Scissor Sisters
could dream of. Their new album, Switzerland, is more on the power-pop
tip than last years dance-floor-fetishizing Señor Smoke, which did
everything from bash Bush, cover the Queen classic Radio Ga Ga and
had a skit that was Groundlings-worthy. Founder/singer Dick Valentines
lyrics are as absurd and politically incorrect as ever, but some of
Switzerlands jokes (e.g., Infected Girls) are just plain gross.
Live, Valentines effortless crowd control recalls a seasoned standup
as much as a swaggering rocker. Maybe Tenacious D could take lessons.
(Andrew Lentz)

Having clawed their way up through the murky hellholes of early-80s Hollywood clubland, and then managed to shake off the stranglingly restrictive roots-rock mantle and launch themselves into an artistic strata that has absolutely no limit, these guys never cease to amaze. Case in point, their extraordinary new CD, The Town and the City, another instantly  and widely  acclaimed collection of remarkably executed songs focused on the immigrant experience that reaches both profound emotional depths and dazzling pinnacles of musicality. With their characteristically unpredictable mix of traditional Latin, earthy rhythm & blues, roiling funk, and rock & roll wallop, Los Lobos continue what undeniably rates as one of the most impressive ascensions this town has ever had the privilege to witness. (Jonny Whiteside)

When Lindsay Coco Motion Hames sings, Theres no one like me here, near the end of the Ettes winsomely catchy debut CD, Shake the Dust (Sympathy for the Record Industry), she sounds like she could be talking about her place in the local music scene, but shes actually just stranded at a party and looking for a way to escape: Now, Ive never been one for reality/but its all wrong, and I wanna go home. In reality, theres no one quite like Ms. Coco, who turns the raw materials of her heartbreak and romantic frustration into deliriously exhilarating garage-rock salvation. Shes seductively vengeful over Jems rubbery bass lines and Ponis bopping-skeleton drums on Spend My Money, and she pleads soulfully in between the sludgy stop-&-start riffs of the verses of Dead and Gone before shifting into a coolly serene resignation on the surging choruses. She transforms We Repel Each Other by the Oblivians Greg Cartwright into a punky pure-pop gem, while producer Liam Watson (the White Stripes, the Kills) counters the relentless fuzz absolution of Hames way-distorted guitar with an almost Phil Spectorish girl-group grandeur on Beggars. The Ettes are it. (Falling James)

Arthur magazine mastermind Jay Babcock and Spaceland Productions Mitchell Frank and Liz Garo have really topped themselves with this superbly programmed festival of new- and non-genre relevant music, running October 19-22 at the gorgeous Palace Theater in olde downtown L.A. The lineups for the four evenings represent that wildly eclectic and brave thinking you find in Arthur, with connections of integrity and high artistry in seemingly disparate musical arenas, including psychedelic and art rock, doomiest metal, frilly freak folk, galactic bebop and all points between. This first night features a super-rare appearance by ex-Pentangle acoustic guitarist Bert Jansch, a true legend revered by the likes of Jimmy Page and Neil Young; bewitching folk-rock courtesy Espers; words of wisdom from the Watts Prophets; heavily joymaking rock & roll from Ohios Buffalo Killers; mental mayhem from S.F.s Yellow Swans; and too many others to detail in this small space  well have more extensive coverage of these events in next weeks issue. 630 S. Broadway, dwntwn.; all ages welcome! (Bonus: Cliftons is a few doors down, and there are ins and outs.) http://arthurnights.imeem.com. (John Payne)

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